PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Balance and unsurpassed depth are
the reasons why the Portland Trail Blazers entered this season
as a Western Conference power. Never were those traits more
evident in this young season than tonight.

Bonzi Wells, Dale Davis and Steve Smith scored 17 points apiece
to lead six players in double figures as the Trail Blazers used
their starting five and dangerous bench to perfection in a
107-91 blowout of the overmatched Denver Nuggets.

Off to an uncharacteristically slow 2-3 start, the Blazers
showed off the frightening talent that got them within 10
minutes of the NBA Finals last season.

"The first thing that jumps out at me are the 31 assists, the
six guys in double figures and such good balance," Portland
coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We had good ball movement and showed
patience."

Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire and Shawn Kemp added 15 points
apiece to the attack as the Blazers pulled ahead less than three
minutes into play and never looked back.

"We are starting to jel a little bit," Wells said. "We are
starting to flow the way we like it to be. Shawn and Dale are
finding out what they like. We have to come and play together
for 48 minutes."

"We shared the ball. I think that's the direction we need to go
in," Kemp said. "We did a better job tonight sharing the ball
and getting after it defensively early in the game. We set the
tone that we would be an aggressive defensive team."

Protecting an 81-74 lead early in the fourth quarter, Portland
blew open the game when Wells contributed six points to a 12-0
run that made it 93-74 with 7:02 to play.

Nick Van Exel scored 23 points and Antonio McDyess added 14 and
10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who beat Portland here on April 19
to keep the Blazers from their first 60-win season.

"Portland has great players and athletes," McDyess said. "Even
though their record isn't good right now, we can't show up and
beat them. They have big-time players and they made the big
shots tonight. We knew we were in for a long night when Shawn
Kemp and Davis were making jump shots early. They are a great
team and in the end they will be tough."

Wallace grabbed 10 rebounds and Stoudamire handed out 10 assists
for Portland, which shot 51 percent (40-of-78) and scored 26
points off turnovers. The Blazers' depth helped cover for a
dreadful night by starting forward Scottie Pippen, who managed
three points on 1-of-5 shooting with a pair of turnovers in 24
lackluster minutes.

"Tonight's game is a game that we can feel good about and
hopefully we can continue to play this way," Pippen said. "We
were finally able to come out and play 48 minutes of good
basketball and take away the strengths of their team."

George McCloud scored 14 points and Voshon Lenard added 12 for
Denver, which shot 41 percent (31-of-75) and held a 42-36
rebounding edge.

Tariq Abdul-Wahad's 3-pointer midway through the third quarter
got the Nuggets within 64-62. But Wallace hit a 21-footer and
Smith connected from 20 feet and made two free throws to open a
70-62 advantage with 3:16 left in the period.

Kemp hit two from the line, Wells drained a 3-pointer,
Stoudamire hit a jumper and Wells completed a three-point play
during the game's decisive run as Portland opened a 19-point
cushion with just over seven minutes to play.

"We weren't playing worth crap," Van Exel said. "They looked
like the same team to me. I don't think they did anything
special to us. The end of the third (quarter) and the beginning
of the fourth is when they made their run and put the game
away."

Portland committed just 11 turnovers and outscored Denver,
48-22, in the paint, reaching 100 points for the first time this
season.

Van Exel buried a jumper 3:20 into play, giving the Nuggets a
4-3 lead -- their final advantage of the night. Smith hit a
3-pointer on Portland's ensuing trip and the Blazers were on
their way to their first back-to-back wins of the season.